Olive oil consumption continues to increase

Good news from Japan. US imports remain stable after seeing decreases in March and April followed by increases in May and June. Imports by China likewise hold steady

The data of imports of olive oilve in main consumption countries, by IOC, reveal year-on-year import increases of +12% in Japan with strong growth from March 2015.

US imports remain stable after seeing decreases in March and April followed by increases in May and June.

Imports by China likewise hold steady.

On the contrary, imports have being going constantly downwards in Australia (−16% as of November 2014), Canada (−12%) and Brazil (-4%), which recorded sharp decreases in May and June. Lastly, through the eight-month period from October 2015 to May 2015, imports were lower in Russia (−26%), prompted by a switch of trend in December 2014.

The June 2015 data were not available for the EU at the time of publication but the figures for the first eight months of 2014/15 show an increase of 6% in intra-EU acquisitions and 253 pc in extra-EU imports compared with the same period a season earlier. Owing to the heavy drop in output in Spain and Italy, extra-EU imports by both countries soared, particularly imports from Tunisia (+1270% and +326%, respectively) compared with a season earlier. This upward movement began in December 2014 even before the change in the EU regulation on the tariff quota at zero-rate duty, a fact connected with the large climb in Tunisian production in the current 2014/15 crop year.